Three Small Words
by Virgo Writer
Summary: They say you never miss the water until it's gone, and I never really understood what it meant. I mean, what's water got to do with love? But it's true, isn't it? And now I know that, I've got to do everything in my power to stop that from happening.TN
1. Part I

Disclaimer – I do not own Card Captor Sakura or the song 'Three Small Words' from Josie and the Pussy Cats even though at this point in time I'm not sure if I'm even going to use it.

Anyway, this is my first specifically Touya/Nakuru fic mostly because I feel there aren't nearly enough of them. Hope you like.

Three Small Words

**Part I**

Touya Kinomoto let out the breath he had subconsciously been holding as he walked in the school gates along side his best friend Yukito.

Yukito chuckled as Touya counted off the seconds allowed just in case he had been too hasty in his numbering.

"Three . . . Two . . . One," he said waiting for her to come and glomp him just as she usually did, but she never came.

Touya frowned as his eyes flicked across the university grounds trying to spot her before she attacked. After a while it seemed that for the first time in the whole four years that he had known her, he would finally make it to class without her jumping him at the gate and that seemed to confuse him immensely.

"Why so glum Tou-ya?" Yukito asked teasingly his voice dripping with sarcastic knowingness. God, Touya hated psychics.

"I'm not 'glum'," he replied stressing out the word sarcastically, "I'm just thinking."

"About a girl?" Yukito teased again.

"I am not thinking about Azuki-san," Touya insisted without even thinking about what he was saying. He blushed a little when Yukito gave him one of those ever knowing glances he used so often. The ones used especially when Nakuru was mentioned. "Ok, so maybe I was thinking about her a little but only because it's so unlike her not to be here."

"Like I said," Yukito nodded, "why so glum?"

Touya just growled and shook his head. "Whatever," he mumbled, "let's just get to class."

It was weird for Touya to be able to get to class without the twenty year old sophmore hanging onto him. Now that he thought about it, the only place where she didn't follow him was the men's room and that was only because the principal at their high school had a go at her when she did.

It was a good thing she had learnt her lesson then.

He really wondered where she could be.

At first he had thought that maybe she was sick, but Nakuru didn't get sick. She and Yukito were alike, they were both guardians; they weren't human and because of that they were an exception from human diseases.

So if Nakuru wasn't sick, then why wasn't she here?

Perhaps she had lost some energy in a battle or something, or perhaps Eriol had; I mean it was the same way with Sakura and Yukito. If Sakura was magically drained so was Yukito so perhaps it worked that way with Eriol and Nakuru. Perhaps Eriol had drawn on her power to sustain him self and she was just recovering.

No, that couldn't be right. Sakura would have told him if something like that had happened – so would Yukito or Yue – it had to be something else.

Touya sighed exasperatedly as he stared at her empty seat in the lecture hall right next to him. Sure, it was his own fault it was empty, he had already turned away two extremely attractive girls and a good friend of his from high school. It seemed that subconsciously he was still hoping she would come eventually.

'_I guess I'll just have to ask Sakura's blue haired friend after school,'_ he thought to himself.

The bell rang shrilly as their professor walked through the door shuffling a stack of papers.

"Ok class, I'll presume you all did the prep work and read through chapters three to seven on commercial med . . ."

She was cut off as Nakuru walked into the class her mahogany brown hair a mess of curls hiding her face.

"Gomen Nasai Sensei," she offered quietly as she took her usual seat next to Touya.

He noticed how different she seemed today. He made a note to himself to ask her what was wrong after class.

Touya sighed as he waited for her patiently. The bell had rung only a few minutes earlier and rather than rushing out the door in his usual manner like most of the students he stood by the door just waiting.

Her movements were slow and clumsy, not like her usual energetic gracefulness. He couldn't think of a time when he had ever seen Nakuru so . . . sad.

"What's wrong Azuki-san?" he asked concernedly as he walked along side of her.

She stopped and looked up at him.

For the first time that day he finally saw the face that was hid behind her hair.

It seemed completely unnatural. The girl he had never seen without a smile gracing her face was hardly seen through the red, puffy eyes; tear streaked mascara, pale face and sad smile. For the first time in her life Nakuru seemed undeniably human.

It was almost as if he was looking at a completely different person from the one he thought he knew. As if the annoying Nakuru who had always tried to tackle him whenever she saw him just wasn't there anymore.

"Nakuru," he said softly calling her by her first name as he pulled her gently into his arms. He let her sob into his shoulder not even asking for the explanation he wanted, right now this was what she needed and he knew she would tell him later.

"Sakura just told me," Yukito said as he ran down the hall towards him. Yukito resisted the urge to give him another of those knowing smiles, now was not the time.

"Told you what?" Touya asked still comforting the crying girl in his arms.

"Don't you know yet?" Yukito asked back.

"Know what?"

"Touya, Nakuru is leaving," Yukito said quietly.

"What?" he asked his eyes widening with surprise.

"Eriol-sama," she sobbed into his chest, "he, he said that hic that we have to hic to go, go back hic home."

Touya couldn't help but think how cute it was. He had to force the thoughts out of his mind and concentrate on what was important.

He couldn't believe it, Nakuru was leaving. I mean sure she was often annoying and he usually made a big deal about her jumping him but she was still his friend and she kind of grew on him over the few years they had come to know each other even if he would die before he admitted it.

"Why?" he asked aloud. "What if someone challenges Sakura? The Chinese gaki's already gone and I can't protect her."

"I tried to hic tell him that," she replied. "He wouldn't listen to me."

'_Then I'll make him listen,'_ Touya thought angrily. '_Not only is he deserting Sakura, he's taking Nakuru away from me.'_

Touya's eyes clouded with confusion as he tried to shake the odd thoughts out of his head. '_Where the hell did that come from?'_ he thought as he held Nakuru just a little bit closer than he had fully intended to.

It seemed that the only thing making any clear sense to him right now was the fact that he honestly didn't want to let her go. Something about her being in his arms made him feel complete, as if she was the final piece to a puzzle he'd been trying to solve all his life and now that he found the answer he didn't want to let that go.

Touya sighed sadly at the thought of what was to come. Despite his constant complaining he never wanted her to leave and now he just couldn't quite allow himself to picture a life without her in it.

"Actually," Yukito spoke drawing Touya away from his thoughts once again, "I heard that Syaoran may be able to return soon. He passed the elders tests and in return they have to grant him but one request."

"So?" Touya asked part of him annoyed at the mention of Syaoran. He still hadn't forgiven him for making his little sister fall in love with him. In his mind there wasn't anything worse than that even if he did love her back.

"Kero went to check up on him," Yukito explained with a shrug before he became completely serious. "All he wanted was Sakura," Yukito spoke his voice almost dreamy. "He'll be back in just a couple of weeks. You know they finally gave him permission to marry her."

"What?" Touya asked suddenly paying complete attention to every word Yukito was saying. "There's no way in hell I'm letting that gaki marry my sister. She's only 16, dammit!"

"Calm down To-ya," Yukito smiled. "I didn't say he was going to marry her now, I just know that he got their permission for when he does want to ask her. Oh and by the way, don't tell Sakura about him coming back. He wants to surprise her."

Touya calmly held his breath counting back from ten. This wasn't the time to get angry; he had more important matters to think about, mostly those concerning Azuki Nakuru.

She looked up at him with a slight smile gracing her lips. She always did think he looked kind of cute when he was angry and she couldn't help but smile slightly at the thought that all this was because of her.

She just couldn't believe it. I mean she had always hoped that maybe Touya would someday be able to see her for what she really was but never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that he would be the one to comfort her like this.

It seemed so perfect and it would have been under any other circumstances. But these were the circumstances and in about a weeks time she would have to leave Touya for good.

"I can't believe you Eriol," Sakura exclaimed looking at Eriol with wide angry eyes. "You know Syao-kun is right, you are evil."

Eriol smiled that sinister smile of his as he looked up from his work at his usually cheerful successor.

"She's right Eriol," Tomoyo agreed from where she lay with her head resting in his lap as he carefully threaded flowers through her dark violet tinted locks. "I can't believe you would do that to Nakuru."

"And what about Touya?" Sakura added. "I mean if you're right about his feelings for Nakuru don't you think he's going to be angry when he finds out this is all a hoax. What if he thinks Nakuru was in on it?"

"I am sure Touya-san will not think any less of Nakuru," Eriol replied charmingly in his exact way of speaking. "He will know better than to think Nakuru was in on this and once he cools off he will be thanking each and every one of us."

"Us?" Tomoyo said raising her head. "You are not bringing us into this twisted plot of yours. I've seen Touya angry and I really don't want to have that sort of thing over my head."

"Of course not my dear," Eriol smiled kissing the back of her hand. "By 'us' I meant Yukito-san and myself."

"Yukito-san?" Sakura asked her voice eminent with surprise. "How on earth did you convince him to lie to my brother?"

"It was for a good cause," he replied getting up as the bell rang signalling that it was time to return to class.

So with that he began to walk away leaving the girls to think about what Eriol had just told him.

"Oh and Tomoyo my dear," he added as he remembered one last thing. "If anyone asks we broke up yesterday so try not to look so cheerful."

"What!" the usually placid Tomoyo yelled as she chased after her 'ex-boyfriend' as he had **a lot** of explaining to do before the second bell rang for class.

Sakura smiled as she watched her two friends walk away. She couldn't wait to tell Syaoran about this in her next email. He'd probably ask her to take photographs for when Touya decided to kick Eriol's ass.

She let out a light chuckle and went on her way to class thinking of Syaoran.

End of Part I

I know that I'm probably alone in my interest in this coupling so I'm not expecting many viewings or reviews of this fic, though I would really like at least five before the next chapter (not that it will guarantee that I update this fic, but its worth a shot). I mean there are all kinds of interesting little tibits to come in the next five or so parts including an almost unnecessary mention of George Michael that puts a damper on his upcoming nuptials.

Not exactly the most mouth watering teaser, but a teaser all the same in the hopes that it will spark some interest. I'm not gonna beg, but I'd love it if you reviewed as it's the only way I know what you think of it whether or not its worth continuing, especially considering the narrow audience I am faced with.


	2. Part II: Gossip

Disclaimer: I'm sure you all know what I'm about to say, but I better say it anyway so as not to get into any trouble with people at CCS. So yeah, I don't own CCS (I totally almost wrote Pokemon there), but it seriously isn't my fault.

Anyways, today's word is 'I'. As in:

_I hate the way you talk to me_

_And the way that you cut you're hair_

_I hate the way you drive my car_

_I hate it when you stare_

_I hate your big dumb combat boots_

_And the way you read my mind_

_I hate you so much it makes me sick_

_It even makes me rhyme_

_I hate the way you're always right_

_I hate it when you lie_

_I hate it when you make me laugh_

_And even worse when you make me cry_

_I hate it that you're not around_

_And the fact that you didn't call_

_But mostly I hate they way I don't hate you_

_Not even a little bit_

_Not even at all._

I'm trying something new here, so please let me know if it works. Also, I hadn't realized that there was so much interest in this story. I kinda just randomly took a look at my reviews today and noticed there were quite a few in there suggesting that I update this story, so I decided to take a hint. Please enjoy,

**Part II: Gossip**

Touya sighed as he resisted the urge to just knock his head into his bedroom wall several times. He just couldn't seem to concentrate anymore.

Ever since Yukito had told him about Nakuru leaving yesterday he just hadn't been able to concentrate on anything. He couldn't seem to get her out of his mind.

He just kept on thinking about all the little things about her that he had failed to notice before.

Like the way she would scrunch up her nose ever so cutely whenever she concentrated really hard. And that way she would twirl a strand of her mahogany hair around her index finger carefully rearranging her perfect curls.

Or the way her eyes would light up when she saw him, or when she smiled, or just whenever. How they were this brilliant shade of ruby red that looked deep into his soul, entrancing him.

And her perfect smile that seemed to light up the whole room. The way it would melt his heart and make him feel so special, as if it was especially for him and nobody else.

Although it may seem that way, it wasn't like he had suddenly just realized that Nakuru was gorgeous and all these beautiful qualities about her. It was only now that he knew he was going to loose her that he had stopped to take extra notice, as if he was making sure he would never forget a thing about her.

From the moment he first laid eyes on her there was something entrancing about her that made it hard to look away, but now he didn't want to look away. And even if he wanted to, he was so captivated by her eyes that it was simply impossible.

And then he realized it.

The positively unthinkable had happened. He had fallen in love with Nakuru Azuki and now it seemed that there was no way out of it what-so-ever.

He guessed it was something that was progressing over the years as it had slowly taken longer and longer for him to shrug himself out of Nakuru's over powering grasp, savouring her touch just a little more than he should have been; and it had only taken the thought of losing her to make him admit it to himself.

He could hardly believe it.

Why hadn't he noticed it earlier? Why didn't he read the signs? Why didn't his heart give him any warning? Why didn't someone tell him?

But in a way someone had.

'_Dammit, why didn't I listen to Yuki?'_ he thought to himself.

Yukito seemed to have almost a sixth sense for this sort of thing.

I guess it was a Kinomoto trait, being completely dense when it came to matters of the heart. A trait that most certainly came from his mother's side of the family.

And now, because he was so completely dense Nakuru was leaving and there wasn't anything he could do about it. All because of that damn blue haired freak and his girlfriend.

It was almost as if he was re-living his little sister's heartache. But Sakura had only been about twelve at the time. She didn't understand love or even what was happening to her.

Touya, on the other hand knew exactly what was going on, what he was feeling and why he was feeling it. He was in love and there was no better explanation for it.

And there wasn't anything he could do about the situation.

Even if he did have the chance to call her back, it wouldn't do them any good. He could open up his heart to her, tell her everything he felt deep inside and still she would leave because it was her master's decision and above all else she was taught to obey him.

This time Touya didn't hold back his urge. He slammed his head against his desk – hard – and hoped that all the confusing thoughts would be shaken out of his head. It didn't work, now he just had a headache to make matters worse.

A soft tap on the door interrupted his thoughts and added to the aching pain in his head.

He got up, careful not to move too quickly, and opened the door revealing his little sister ready to play her part in Eriol's little ploy.

She couldn't believe that she had actually let him convince her to help. She hated lying to her brother and he always seemed to be able to see right through her. Hopefully Eriol was right and he would be too overcome with grief to even care.

"What is it Sakura?" he asked waiting for her to speak as he rubbed his head where it had hit the desk. He really hoped it wouldn't be leaving a bruise.

"We convinced Eriol to let us throw a goodbye party at his house in a couple of days," Sakura explained quickly recalling the lines she had rehearsed over and over again with Eriol and Tomoyo to ensure nothing went wrong. "I know you and Nakuru are sort of friends, and I just thought you should know. I'm sure she would really appreciate you being there Touya."

Touya nodded his head thoughtfully and with that Sakura raced back to her room before he really began to think about what she had said.

She couldn't believe it had actually worked. Worse still, Eriol had been right.

She kind of felt sorry for her brother and wished that they weren't doing this to him. Her brother looked so depressed, as if his heart was simply breaking in two and there was absolutely nothing he or anybody else could do about it.

Yukito had mentioned that he and Nakuru had been avoiding each other a little bit almost as if they were trying to save each other any heartache that may come about just from being there. It was obvious that it wasn't doing either of them any good.

Nakuru believed it would make things easier when it came to say goodbye if she began to distance herself and it was easily seen that it was really just making things worse. It would only make things harder when they really did have to say goodbye, something Sakura knew personally.

Part of her was just glad this was all one big hoax cooked up by Eriol. She didn't think Touya would be able to survive Nakuru leaving for real, especially now that he knew exactly how he felt about her.

It felt as though a part of him was leaving too. As if he was losing something important that he'd never be able to restore. There was something about Nakuru that no one else would ever be able to take the place of.

God, she hoped Eriol knew what he was doing.

Eriol sighed as he watched things proceed. For the first time in his life, he was beginning to doubt the brilliance of one of his master plans and the likelihood of its desired outcome.

Nakuru had locked herself in her room hours ago and probably wouldn't be coming out until hours later. He had sensed her change from human form to guardian and he knew her reasoning behind it, but even in an immortal form tears continued to stain her pale cheeks.

It just wasn't quite fair and he knew it. Nobody deserved this sort of torture, especially not her, and it was he who had brought it upon her even if it was for the sake of her future happiness.

And it all confused him so.

He had created her in such a way that she would never be capable of emotional attachments deeper than the utmost respect. It was his way of protecting them from the same sad fate suffered by Keroberous and Yue and yet somehow . . .

Ruby Moon confused him further. Nakuru's tears could be explained, after all she was somewhat human but Ruby Moon was not. No other guardian of his creation or some other sorcerer's had ever shed a tear, and of all the guardians he knew, he had not expected Ruby Moon to be the first.

He sighed once again.

She was always so cold, his humanoid guardian; he could hardly believe she was even capable of emotion, at least not the way he made her. He just couldn't understand her reaction to these events and he needed answers that only she could give him.

'_**Ruby Moon**,'_ he called out to her in his mind. He could hear her sobbing and knew she was listening. '_**Why are you crying?**'_

Her crying was put on pause for the moment. Eriol couldn't tell if it was to try and make him believe she hadn't been or if she was embarrassed about her tears, or maybe she had simply paused to ponder his question, but it stopped for a few moments while she replied.

'_**I do not understand Eriol-sama**,'_ she replied in a forced nonchalant tone as she cried silently in her room.

'_**Whom do you cry for?**'_ Eriol answered rephrasing his question to make its meaning clearer.

He could sense Ruby nodding in understanding. '_**I cry for Nakuru master**,'_ she began solemnly, '**_who's pain is so great it seems to burn through our very soul tearing us apart inside. And I cry for Touya who only recognizes too late how great a loss he is about to encounter._**

'_**And I cry for myself, Eriol- sama**,'_ she finished off sadly, '_**because I only just realize that I too am in love with him and that Nakuru and I are only one person, not the two I had believed us to be**.'_

"But how?" Eriol asked himself aloud, cutting off the link between himself and his guardian. She needed to be alone with her thoughts and he with his; there were some very important things they both had to come to terms with.

Tomoyo took a deep calming breath and counted backwards from ten as she heard the whispers and giggles around her all concerned with the same gossip that had been going on since yesterday.

Who would have thought she and Eriol would have been such big news? Nobody had stopped talking about them since they had come in and sat on opposite sides of the rooms in fifth period the previous day.

And who could forget the endless gossip in study hall.

"_Did you hear about Tomoyo and Eriol?" _somebody would ask innocently.

"_No, what about them?_ _Is she pregnant?"_ another would ask curiously wanting to know more.

"_Are they engaged?" _some other unfortunate who wasn't up to date would ask.

"_Are they eloping?"_

The moment it was mentioned people came to their own speculations. After all, Tomoyo and Eriol were the 'it' couple; the only two people known in their high school to be more in love than she and Eriol, were Syaoran and Sakura. I guess the thought of the two breaking up was about the farthest thing from people's minds.

"_Ok, this is what I heard . . ." _would surely follow. Or "_I heard from Mandy, who heard from Erika, who heard Angel say to Michael who heard from Bernice who heard Sakura and Tomoyo . . ."_

The basic idea of these stories was that Tomoyo and Eriol had gone through some massive break-up at lunch that nobody had actually witnessed them selves but there was always a friend of a friend who managed to get front row seats. And if the concept of the couple voted second most likely to get married and live happily ever after wasn't gossip enough then just wait to you hear the stories of why.

"_I heard that she was cheating on him with Li Syaoran."_

"_Li Syaoran? Isn't that Sakura's boyfriend in Hong Kong?"_

"_Yeah, I know. What a bitch, huh?"_

"_Totally."_

"_No I heard that she had a drug problem and she broke up with him in the middle of the intervention he planned to help her."_

"_Wow, Eriol is so sweet. He's just trying to help her and she just throws it back in his face."_

"_The way I hear it the only reason she was even going out with him was so she could screw him."_

"_Seriously?"_

"_Seriously, and once she was done with him she just kicked him to the curb like the slut she is."_

"_Well I heard that some of his investments went sour and he lost like a million dollars or something and she broke up with him because he wasn't rich any more."_

"_Gold digging whore. Like she hasn't got enough money on her own."_

"_I bet the whole thing was just some show to her."_

Of course she was the bad guy in this whole situation. These rumours were spread by girls and they were too busy idolizing his athletic escapades, toned body and handsome face to see the horns and pitchfork he hid so well.

No matter what, the fault couldn't possibly rest upon him. Eriol couldn't possibly be the one sleeping with his best friend's girlfriend. And he couldn't be the player who was only going out with her to sleep with her, because guys don't do that sort of thing. And Eriol would never touch drugs, half the time it seemed like the only explanation for her boyfriend – heck Syaoran had constantly insisted that Eriol was mixing medications; he said something about Viagra and Ritalin that she never quite understood. And everybody knows that only girls are gold diggers.

No, Eriol couldn't quite come off in this whole thing as anything other than his perfect self, halo and all. And most of all, it couldn't have been a mutual decision because there always had to be someone to blame, and according to the entire female population of Tomeada High School; she was it.

But that was understandable, because there was only one thing on their puny little scandalous minds . . .

"What a bitch! Poor Eriol, I bet he really needs somebody there to comfort him now that he's totally single," she heard uttered for at least the twelfth time that day.

'_What evil little backstabbing whores!'_ she thought to herself angrily as she flicked through the open vogue pattern book for ideas. She just couldn't believe them; she and Eriol had hardly been 'broken up' for twenty-four hours and already they were practically throwing themselves at her boyfriend.

'_Ex-boyfriend,'_ she reminded herself sarcastically rolling her eyes. For his sake, this silly little plan of his better work.

Tomoyo took a deep breath and started counting once again. She wasn't going to let these tasteless tramps get to her. She wasn't going to let them ruin her absolute favourite shopping activity.

She was material shopping for Nakuru's dress; a dress she was yet to design thanks to Eriol's short notice, but a dress all the same.

After some careful consideration and a few glances at the stores varying shades, she had quickly decided against peach despite its symbolism. The colour alone with its resemblance to orange was enough to make her gag, but if you combine that with Nakuru's skin tone, ruby eyes and mahogany hair then you have a fashion disaster waiting to happen.

Anything red was an obvious choice, but in Tomoyo's opinion it was too sexy for a girl in mourning and way too much red for her liking. She got the feeling that Nakuru just wasn't in the mood right now for red, black would probably be more suitable.

So after a few words with Eriol and Sakura she had narrowed it down to a few basic colours: Yellow, perhaps to match Nakuru's bright personality which seemed to be absent currently – she was hoping perhaps the colour would help to inspire a smile onto the girl's unnaturally woeful face.

Blue or Silver or even perhaps a combination of the two because they were Touya's favourite colours. After all, the whole idea of her making a dress was to impress Touya and instigate a confession of undying love out of him.

Purple was another option. The colour would look positively stunning on Nakuru and is said to be the colour of passion to boot. It would really bring out her eyes and the pink in her hair, the fact that it was Tomoyo's own favourite colour only paid a minor part in its nomination.

The final choice was white, the colour of innocence. Maybe with the colour being so often associated with marriage they might be able to get a proposal out of him. Ok, maybe a proposal was pushing it, but she could dream right.

Tomoyo sighed thoughtfully. '_So many fabrics, so little time,'_ she thought as she scanned row after row of chiffon, silk, velvet and organza looking for that perfect fabric in that perfect colour.

And then she saw them, just sitting next to each other calling to her, telling her that they were it. She knew it had to be fate or destiny that caused this serendipitous act of some ignorant customer to place these two fabrics together. The chiffon and silken fabrics were perfect for one another, they seemed to complement one another in the same way Touya and Nakuru always had.

Tomoyo smiled gleefully as she went to the service counter collecting any necessary thread and ribbons needed for the ideas forming in her head.

She had no idea how they were going to convince Nakuru to wear it but the one thing she did know for sure was that if Touya wasn't already in love with her then he'd be hopelessly devoted the minute he saw her dress, and that was no exaggeration.

– End of Part II –

Right, another chapter up and ready for your consideration. I'd like to send a quick thank you toSockman for their critique as it was very helpful. The whole 'I mean' thing is a nasty habit I picked up from my dairy based fanfics (and there's a few of those) and probably something I need to work on. Thank you, also, to everybody else for their reviews. They were very encouraging.

Also, while I have your attention, I'm trying to force everybody to read my crossover fic More Than You Think You Are. It's a Pokemon/CCS crossover and as soon as I get a sufficient amount of reviews, I'll be putting the Sakura and Syaoran chapter up for your viewing pleasure.


	3. Part III: Changes

Disclaimer – I don't own nothing except for my ideas which are priceless.

**Part III**

Tomoyo tilted her head to the side as she surveyed the furnishings of the elegant ballroom of Eriol's hundred year old Victorian Mansion. Her eyes flicked from elaborate light fixture to inquiring portrait and back again before she finally turned to Sakura and whispered something in her best friend's ear.

Sakura nodded as she closed her eyes and reached into the back of her mind for a certain something that would aid her in doing Tomoyo's bidding. She smiled and whispered its name, and when she opened her eyes again it was done.

The exquisite, one of a kind, family heirloom, older than the house itself chandelier that had been hanging in the centre of the room had been erased and replaced within a blink of an eye. A sparkly disco ball and a stunning array of brightly coloured lights had taken its place helping to bring the 19th Century fossil into the 21st Century.

The paintings which, much like the chandelier, were heirlooms and very precious to the owner of the house – some of them were even originals of artists like Delaunay, Van Gogh and Monet – had also been erased. These had been replaced by band posters, movie posters and any other sort of poster that comes to mind, and a particularly large one had been replaced by a wide screen TV set to a music channel complete with song lyrics underneath just in case anyone wanted to try out some Karaoke at tonight's event.

Along with the posters, disco ball and wide screen TV they had also added a juice bar complete with Bartender and punchbowl; a buffet table spanning from one end of the room to the other and covered from top to bottom in just about every snack food known to man; only the latest and greatest sound system ever made and enough party decorations to sink a battle ship.

"What do you think?" Sakura asked twirling the two cards on her fingers.

"Erase and Create have done a great job," Tomoyo replied as her eyes scanned the room appreciatively. Sakura had done everything she had asked perfectly right down to the very last pink streamer. They both smiled and thanked the two cards who were really happy to do anything for their Mistress.

"So what do you think Eriol will have to say about our redecorating?" Sakura asked with a sly and devious smile that seemed completely unnatural on Sakura's perfect cherub face.

Tomoyo returned her smile as she looked towards the ballrooms entrance. "I don't know, but I think we're about to find out."

It was at that point that Eriol walked through the doors and into his every nightmare.

His eyes widened in shock to the point where you could be sure they were going to just pop right out of the sockets. His jaw dropped so hard it practically hit the floor and it was only by pure willpower that he remained conscious.

"What happened to my stuff?!" he asked frantically to no one in particular.

"Pictures went bye-bye," Sakura giggled at the look on his face.

Tomoyo, who had far more self-restraint than Sakura ever had, managed to control herself for Eriol's sake and spoke calmly, remaining her usual poised self. "They just weren't right for the party. We had to get rid of them," she replied in a diplomatic tone. "They were ruining the chi flow and more importantly," she added, "they clashed with the streamers."

"But, my paintings! The chandelier!" he cried out in anguish. "Do you know how long those things have been in my family?"

"Geez, Eriol. Chill," Tomoyo answered him nonchalantly as she carefully inspected her manicure to make sure that all this deviousness hadn't caused her to chip a nail. "I mean, there's no point getting your panties in a twist over a few finger paintings."

"Finger paintings?" he asked sceptically his eyes widening further in disbelief. "Finger paintings! They were works of art. They were pieces of history. They were **irreplaceable**!"

"Eriol, I said chill," she told him again. "You can get them back after the party. I just had Sakura erase them so this place would look a little less like some five hundred year old man was lodging here."

"Why couldn't you just say that to begin with?"

"It's called revenge, my dear sweet Eriol," she said with a slight edge to her voice. "You try explaining to every girl in the school that you don't have drug problem, you haven't been sleeping with Syaoran, and that you didn't just have George Michael's lovechild, and see how you feel about that damn vase of sunflowers?"

"Oh, I heard about that one," Sakura said in an effort to break the tension. "A girl in my Math's class started it in fifth period."

"Aw, c'mon Tomoyo," Eriol tried desperately as he took her hand in his. "If I were you, I'd feel privileged to be the mother of what will probably be George Michael's only child."

Tomoyo smiled sarcastically. "Remind me again why I have to be the bad guy in this?"

"Because I'm the one that's leaving," Eriol replied casually smiling ever so smugly in response.

Tomoyo glowered angrily and glared at him maliciously. "Just remember this moment" she told him evenly, "when Sakura accidentally loses all your stuff anime space."

"You wouldn't?" he gasped worriedly. "Would you?"

"You have no idea," she replied coolly as she grabbed her bag and left the room leaving a giggling Sakura and a very anxious looking Eriol behind to put the finishing touches on the party decorations.

She walked delicately down one of Eriol's many dark halls. Her footsteps echoed eerily through the long corridor and she made a mental note to herself that they would have to do something about it before the party. Who knows what people would get up to when given the opportunity of a secluded dark hallway and an un-chaperoned party?

She knocked lightly on a door about three-quarters down the hall and waited for the room's inhabitant to let her in.

The person within sniffed lightly as they moved towards the door. A few seconds later Nakuru opened the door. She was looking anything but her regular cheerful self, although, she seemed apparently relieved to find Tomoyo at the door.

"Oh, Tomoyo it's you," she said as she stepped back and allowed Tomoyo to enter.

The two girls moved inside and sat themselves on the bed.

"Yeah. I brought you a gift," Tomoyo offered awkwardly as she held the bag out to Nakuru who took it gratefully.

"Thank you," Nakuru said quietly as she carefully examined the bag without even opening it so she could examine the items within. For a few moments there was complete silence between the girls until Nakuru broke it with a question she wanted so desperately to know the answer to. "Why can't you and master Eriol just work things out and live happily ever after like they do in fairy tales?"

The tears began to fall from Nakuru's eyes, tears she had been holding back since Tomoyo entered the room.

At first, all Tomoyo could do was stare amazedly at the older burnet as she tried to think of a plausible answer to the question. She went over all the possible ways that Touya and Nakuru could kill Eriol when all this was over in her head and was seriously considering helping them out.

She sighed honestly as she looked into Nakuru's naïve, tearful eyes. "Life doesn't work like fairytales," she told her honestly feeling about as bad as someone who had just told a child there was no such thing as Santa Clause.

"But you love each other," Nakuru protested. She wanted Tomoyo to be able to tell her that everything would be all right in the end, and that love conquered all and that anything is possible if you believe. She wanted Tomoyo to let her know that this wasn't the end; she didn't want to let go of what hope she had left.

"Well . . . you see . . . it's complicated," she sighed looking to the ground out of disgust for herself. It was the same vague grown-up answer her parents had given her after their divorce. She had promised herself she would never say that to anyone, but here she was lying to Nakuru and trying to convince herself she was doing the right thing. As if lying to someone could be for their own good.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, me and Eriol . . . we're kind of just looking for different things," Tomoyo tried to explain. She hated lying, especially to someone as sweet as Nakuru, and she was going to make sure that Eriol never lived this down.

"Of course you are," Nakuru whispered softly not even bothering to wipe the tears that fell steadily from her eyes. "If you were looking for the same thing you wouldn't have found each other."

Tomoyo took a deep breath and made her decision. She knew it was against his precious plan, she knew that nothing was guaranteed, but she also knew that Touya and Nakuru didn't deserve what they were being put through for the sake of Eriol's cunning scheme.

"You know what Nakuru," she said softly smiling lightly, "I think that's the best thing anyone's told me all week."

Her smile broadened as a new, far more ingenious plan, began to take shape in her head. She gave the guardian a quick hug before assuring her that everything would work out for the best and running back down the hall.

"Eriol," she called sweetly to the navy-haired boy, "we're going to the mall?"

"What for?" he asked curiously. "I thought we had everything already."

"PDA," she said simply hoping he would get the hint, but sadly the clueless look on his face told her she was going to have to spell this out for him. "Hurry up Eriol or I'll have to find someone else to make up with."

"Oh," Eriol replied grinning mischievously as it all finally sunk in.

"From now on we're doing this my way and maybe if we're lucky Touya won't be so hard on you," she added as she tugged him out the door and to the mall. Boy was she going to make those girls pay, and if she played her cards right she might be able to humiliate Eriol in the process.

End of Part III

I guess I was starting to feel sorry for you guys because I've decided to catch you up on where I was up to in this story. I've actually got another completed chapter sitting here on my computer, plus one that is ¾ done so I guess while I'm on holidays I might try and complete that and finally finish one of the many stories that I started something like 4 years ago.


	4. Part IV: Amateur Dramatics

Disclaimer – I don't own it.

**Part IV**

"Oh Tomoyo! I'm so sorry," Eriol cried out dramatically. "I never should have let you go. You're the most important person in my life; you're what makes my life worth living. These past few days have been hell on me – hell, I tell you – and it only took losing you to realize how much you meant to me.

"I should have known better than to let you go. I thought I needed space when really the only thing that I ever needed was you.

"Please forgive me Tomoyo," he finished bending down on one knee. "I never meant to hurt you, and I only wish I could take back all the awful things I said. There is no excuse for my behaviour and I hope you accept my apology and let me make it all up to you as best I can."

"Ok," Tomoyo replied thoughtfully as she looked down on him from where she sat. "Now let's try it once more with feeling."

"If you ask me, Miss. Tomoyo, I found it very convincing," the driver called from the front of the limo as they stopped at a red light.

"Are you sure Arthur?" she asked. "It has to be extremely convincing if these girls are going to buy it. I mean, it has to be Oscar worthy material if we're going to fix all of Eriol's mistakes."

"I'm sure Miss," Arthur replied turning back quickly to show how sincere he was. "If I didn't know any better I'd be sure it was for real."

"Good," Tomoyo said happily. "How far are we from the mall?"

"You've got enough time to go through it once more."

Tomoyo smiled. "This time Eriol, let's try to do it without the gagging reflex."

Touya sat uncomfortably bent over his desk in semi-darkness. The only light in the room was the small desk lamp shining over his shoulder and onto his masterpiece.

"Ow," he muttered as he punctured himself once again.

He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath trying to retain the poise needed to get this right. And he just had to get it right, there was too much on the line right now for him not to.

'_It's all for Nakuru,'_ he reminded himself as he calmly picked things up where he had left off. '_This is what she deserves.'_

Why did it have to be so hard? Sakura and Tomoyo made it look so easy; they were doing it long before he was. I mean, if a bunch of twelve year olds could do it shouldn't it be easier for him?

But nothing is ever easy for the non-artistic male with the sewing needle, especially when the task at hand involves sewing the name of your beloved into the chest of a miniature teddy bear. And before you ask, he had been told – several times – that there are people you can pay to do it for you, but I guess he just felt that it would be more personal if he went through the pain himself.

It was very important to him that Nakuru knew just what she meant to him. He didn't want to have to live with himself if he just let her go without even putting up a fight.

She meant too much to him. How could he not fight for her? There was so much more to lose in not fighting that he was actually willing put his pride aside and get on his knees and beg Eriol to leave her with him.

So, he was going to fight for her, armed with nothing but an obviously hand sewed teddy bear and a few notes he'd scrawled on an old Chinese takeaway napkin. It wasn't much really, but what else had he to offer other than his heart; that was hers long before he even realised he had given it away.

He needed her, because without her he was empty and incomplete; so, as he laboured under the dim light of his desk lamp, he prayed to every god he could think of that it would be enough. That he would be enough.

Tomoyo walked into the malls food court with her head held high and a placid smile on her face. It took every ounce of her will power not to smirk with triumph as she ran over the details of the plan in her head.

'_First things first,'_ she thought cunningly to herself as she walked over to a fashionable coffee bar in the corner and ordered a double strength mochaccino.

The coffee was necessary for two reasons. The first being, that it would look somewhat suspicious if she just randomly sat down at a table in the food court without any food. The second reason was as part of their performance, also known as Tomoyo's revenge for having to put up with all the rumours and the implications that she would actually even consider sleeping with George Michael. As luck would have it, part of the dialogue involved her threatening Eriol with hot coffee and she hadn't yet made her decision on whether or not to actually follow through with it.

So, essentially the coffee was a prop. But that didn't make it any less delicious.

As Tomoyo waited for her drink, she made a subtle surveillance of the food court. It was of dire importance that she found the perfect strategic position, or the make up performance of the year would be in vain. All the same, she was sure she wouldn't have to try so hard to make it seem believable if Eriol weren't so much of a ham.

Finding said position was much easier than she had imagined. As luck would have it, there was an empty table between Hannako Satchi, undoubtedly the biggest gossip in school (and perhaps even the world) and a table of girls from the Junior Varsity squad. She couldn't have found a better audience if she'd planned it in advance. These girls would ensure that news of the makeup would spread like wildfire, getting around the school in time for the party.

However, for the gossip to really get around, it had to be worthy. And the only things worthy of such widespread muttering were scandals and the truth, especially if it was even juicier than the rumour it was dispelling.

Thus, Tomoyo is resorting to the scandalous 'truth' of their break-up, and this time it was going to be Eriol's fault.

Tomoyo smiled at the cashier as she was handed her drink, and made her way to her table, paying no attention to her desired audience as they began to whisper and giggle in her general direction. She looked over the edge of her mug as she sat down and took a sip of her coffee.

That was the signal for Eriol to appear and make his acting debut. She had to make sure that she had their attention before things really got interesting.

There was a sudden surge of noise in the food court as everyone tried to catch a glance of some sort of commotion coming towards them. As it got closer, Tomoyo, Hannako, and the cheerleaders could make out nothing more than a blue haired creature of sorts crashing into tables, chairs and trays until a dishevelled Eriol stood before them, shirt half hanging out his pants, hair a mess, jacket hanging off his shoulder and spaghetti sauce all over him.

It had taken a lot of convincing to get Eriol to, as he had so eloquently put it, "deface his clothes", but the effect was just so astounding that Eriol could see how significant it was. The image of him now, shirt tails and all, was so obviously opposed to his usual attire that anyone could see straight away how distraught he was.

The dishevelled-ness really made the character, but all the same, he couldn't help but be a little annoyed. He now had to rethink his whole outfit for tonight, a) because people had seen it, and b) it was dirty; but more importantly, he now had spaghetti sauce all over his favourite pants. Many people - including Eriol himself on numerous occasions - had remarked on how good his butt looked in those pants and he really didn't want to lose that.

He made a quick mental note, '_spare no expense on dry cleaning. Pants like these are worth every penny.'_

Eriol stopped a few meters from Tomoyo's table where she sat feigning shock and curiosity as she watched her 'ex-boyfriend' stand, panting madly in the middle of the food court looking like something out of a Broadway musical. Every eye within a 10 meter radius was staring at him, just waiting to see what he would do next.

'_And people say I have a flare for the dramatic,'_ she scoffed to herself as she prepared for Eriol's dialogue.

Eriol's face suddenly took on an indistinguishable expression that was supposed to be relief - or something suspiciously like it - as he finally spotted her waiting for her dramatic, and most certainly overdue, apology. Eriol ran quickly to her side, dropping to his knees and taking her hand as though it were one last lifeline ready to save him from himself.

"Tomoyo, my darling, I'm so glad I've found you at last. I've been looking everywhere, I need to talk to you," Eriol exclaimed delivering his lines with such over-dramatic pretension that they almost seemed hollow.

In response Tomoyo sneered at him as she removed her hand from his in the fashion of someone who was removing their hand from up a cow's backside. "Well, I don't want to talk to you," she replied as she tried to wipe every trace of Eriol from her hand before it sunk in. "Quite frankly, I don't want to hear anything you've got to say to me, Hirigizawa."

A low murmur erupted from the crowd in response to the harshness of her words and the clear sign of just how little respect she had left for him. Once again, Tomoyo had to resist the urge to smile. This was exactly the response she was planning for, and now that she had their attention she was going to make it worth their while.

"Please Tomoyo," he begged, still on his knees and reaching once again for her hands which she kept out of his reach. "If we could just go somewhere private, then I could explain everything. I . . ."

"Explain away Eriol," she snarled cruelly as she glared openly at the boy before her, "because this is about as private as it's gonna get."

The crowd seemed to surge forward in one fluid, almost singular motion, as everybody tried to get a better vantage point.

"My dearest Tomoyo," Eriol began, apparently attempting to divulge the details of whatever sordid affair that broke them up. "I never meant to hurt you, you have to believe me when I tell you that hurting you is the last thing I ever wanted to do. It was all just an idiotic mistake and . . . "

"Oh was it now," Tomoyo interrupted, cutting him off with a look of reproach that would silence even the bravest of men. "So it was just a mistake when you accused me of being in love with my _best friend's_ boyfriend, only for me to discover that you had been making out with Jenni Zoutamen from the AV club?"

Her audience let out a communal '_urgh'_ at the very suggestion of such an act. Jenni Zoutamen was a social leper. She was one of the biggest geeks in school and to top it off, looked like her face had been run over by a steam roller. Rumour had it, she made out with the frogs in the science lab in the hope that one of them would become a prince; what difference was there is kissing Eriol?

A look of shock and disgust replaced his feigned desperation. He hadn't been expecting that. Tomoyo seemed to be caught up in the moment and was resultantly, drifting away from their carefully rehearsed script. Well two could play at that game. Tomoyo wasn't the only one who could think on her feet.

"I did no such thing, Tomoyo," Eriol began, quickly pulling himself from the edge of social suicide. "I admit that I did kiss Ammika, but that was when I thought you were with Syaoran and I wanted to get back at you. And what with your ridiculous obsession with plaid, I didn't know how else to get through to you. Now that I know better, I realise how immature I've been about this whole situation and I just hope you can find it in your hear to forgive me."

Tomoyo resisted the urge to cringe and continued with perfect precision.

"But why couldn't you just believe me when I told you that it wasn't true?" she exclaimed in response, her voice heavy with heartache and tears ready to break. She was not yet prepared to let this come to its happy conclusion; especially not while Eriol was painting himself as a misdirected victim of jealousy and mistrust. Even Othello couldn't pull that off. "Do you think so little of what we have, of our friends? Do you think so little of me?"

"I don't know what came over me," he replied. "I was just so afraid that it might be true that I couldn't think straight. I love you so much Tomoyo that the thought of losing you killed me inside.

"These past few days have been hell for me. I tried so hard to hate you for all the things I was sure you had done, but all I could think about was how much I missed your smile, and your touch, and your eyes, and the very sound of your voice."

Their audience let out a collective _awwww_. If Tomoyo wasn't taking him back, well they certainly would. But then, even Tomoyo could not resist the dreamy smile that spread across her face. I mean, if they had actually broken up she would have most definitely taken him back after that speech.

"So here I stand before you Tomoyo," Eriol continued, looking desperately into her eyes, searching for something that would give him the hope to continue on, "just praying with every fibre in my being, that you will take me back in spite of everything I've done. You mean more to me than I ever thought possible, you give my life meaning and I know that it would be bleak without your presence.

"I can't believe it took losing you for me to realize just how much you mean to me. If you can find in your heart to forgive me Tomoyo," he said sincerely as he got down on one knee before her. Their audience gasped in anticipation, as like Tomoyo they sat on the very edge of their seats, "I know I'll never do anything to compromise our relationship like this again."

"Oh Eriol," she gushed happily as she fell into his arms.

"I'm just so glad to have you in my arms once again," he replied. "I was so sure I had lost you forever and that I'd be forced to spend every waking day without you Tomoyo, my reason for living. But now . . ."

He was cut off by a swift jab to the ribs.

"You can stop now," Tomoyo muttered under her breath as they stood up and began to make their exit.

The audience was torn between crying and applauding as the happy couple walked away. Tomoyo smiled to herself, silently commending herself on the show that they had put on.

'_I give it two hours'_, she thought to herself. She was sure they had given the school something to talk about and the news should be around by the party.

And to think she had just saved Eriol's life. That boy didn't know how good he had it.

End of Part IV

I just completed this story so while I'm still in a generous mood I'm going to put up the chapters one by one. There are only two chapters left plus an epilogue which is in line with one of my other stories – although I won't say which because you'd easily work out what I meant.

Anyway, please review so that I know I'm not just wasting my time and there is someone other than me still reading this.


	5. Part V: Surrender

Disclaimer – I do not own CCS. I do however have a small claim over the word 'soliloquy' but seeing as it very rarely comes up these days I believe it is hardly worth mentioning, so lets just move on to the story part.

**Part V**

Yukito braced himself as he knocked lightly on Touya's bedroom door. He dreaded to think of the state his best friend must be in after missing two days of class. Sakura hadn't even seen him leave his room since yesterday afternoon, and she was sure he wasn't eating. She couldn't recall ever seeing her brother like this, which is why she had called Yuki because to be honest, he was starting to really worry her.

"I'm not hungry Sakura," Touya called from inside. Yukito supposed that on some level that was encouraging. He'd been expecting something rather more passive - in other words, it was better than nothing.

"It's me, Yuki," he replied with his ear against the door hoping to hear some kind of response from within.

The moments passed with silence as Touya gave some consideration to the proposition of company. He had been alone with his thoughts for so long now that he was beginning to give them names and farfetched personalities. He needed a distraction, though he knew there was nothing that would stop him thinking about Nakuru.

Yukito waited tensely for some kind of shuffling or movement, any sign that Touya wasn't completely mad.

"Come in," Touya finally called hoarsely at the precise moment when Yukito had made the decision to simply break down the door.

What he saw inside disturbed him more than anything he had heard so far. The curtain had been drawn tightly, blocking every ounce of light and the lamps turned off. Touya lay on top of his bed staring blankly at the ceiling, not even turning to acknowledge Yukito as he entered the room.

A couple of half eaten pizza boxes lay strewn around the room – '_at least he's eating,'_ Yukito sighed as he surveyed the mess around him. He almost imagined that this was what it was like in Touya's head amidst all sorts of desperate thoughts of Nakuru.

Little screwed up balls of paper up balls of paper were strewn across the room and the waste paper basket was full to the brim. And in the corner of his desk, lit by a crack of light coming from the window, was a tiny white teddy bear with Ruby's name embroidered in red and gold thread.

"Oh," Yukito gasped sadly, looking a Touya sympathetically. "What are you doing Touya?" he asked concernedly.

Touya didn't even turn his head as he replied; he just continued to stare into the nothingness. "It helps," he replied quietly. "I don't expect you to understand."

"To be honest I don't understand much of what's going on at all," Yukito sighed, gingerly tossing one of Touya's old socks aside as he sat himself on the end of the bed, "but I don't think that matters."

Touya sighed sombrely, sitting up suddenly and staring at the ivory teddy bear on his desk. It had taken him hours, days even, only now that it was done he couldn't help but think of how futile it all was. It was all completely beyond his control; he was helpless to stop her. He'd never felt so impotent in his life.

"Do you remember the first time we saw her?" Touya asked suddenly, glancing at Yukito from the corner of his eye.

"You mean in class?" Yukito replied, his brow furrowed as he struggled to remember a time deep in the past.

Touya shook his head, almost smiling to himself as he recalled the very moment he started falling for her. "It was just before class, remember? She sort of just appeared out of nowhere; I think I would have hit her with my bike if I hadn't felt her first. It was like time stopped, just for a moment. And right before she disappeared all over again, she smiled the sweetest smile I had ever seen in my life."

Touya paused as he thought about the implications of his words before he said them. It was too late to take them back; they were at least implied somewhere amidst his trip down memory lane. That smile just kept swirling around in his head, and it killed him to think that he would probably never see it again.

Only once he said them, they'd be out there, and there would be no denying it to himself or anyone else. No, there was no more denying it to him self - he might as well say it out loud.

He sighed once more, closing his eyes to the world.

"If I had known then, what I know now, I would have made that moment last forever. You were right Yuki," he added, finally turning to his friend and offering a shrug as explanation. "I love her."

"Then what are you doing here?" Yukito asked lightly, keeping his 'I told you so's to him self. "You should be telling all this to Nakuru, not me."

"I can't. Not now. It's too late," Touya protested, dropping his head into his hands and running his fingers through his hair. "It took me too long to figure it out. Now she's leaving, and I've missed my chance."

"So what?" Yukito asked. "You've got sixteen hours until she leaves. That's sixteen hours to put your heart on the line and risk everything on the slim chance that she might feel the same. You've just got to believe she's worth the risk."

"Of course she is," Touya argued, turning to Yukito in frustration. "I know she's worth the risk, it's just . . ."

"It's just nothing," Yukito proclaimed, cutting him off. "You love her, it's that simple. And just maybe she loves you back. You'll never know unless you fight for her Touya."

"So what you're suggesting is that I tell her I love her in spite of everything else that's going on right now," Touya suggested almost sardonically. "Best case scenario here, she loves me back and leaves anyway.

"Nothing I could possibly do or say right now could make things any less messed up than they already are. She's leaving tomorrow morning, regardless of what I do tonight."

"And you're just going to let her walk out of your life without even telling her how you feel, just like that?" Yukito asked, jumping up from his seat.

"What choice do I have?" Touya asked quietly, lying back down on the bed. It was as though there was no fight left in him – he had just resigned himself to his fate and to the fact that he would be without Nakuru. Some spark in him had been blown out and all he could do was lie in the dark waiting for it to be over.

"Touya . . ." Yukito began sympathetically, but Touya cut him off instantly.

"You can go now," he muttered grimly, turning his back on Yukito and the ivory teddy bear lovingly sewn for the love of his life.

Yukito sighed, waiting for some kind of sign. There was no getting through to him now. Everything was so wrong. Whatever had made them think that this was going to work?

"The party starts at seven," he added sadly, turning back as he walked through the door. "I know you can't possibly understand it, but forever is a long time not to know. If not for your own sake, then for hers. Hopefully I'll see you at the party."

Yukito sighed one last time as he waited for a response. He'd done everything he could and he couldn't be sure that it was enough. All he could do now was hope for the best, and maybe everything would turn out right.

"Well you certainly took your time," Sakura muttered disdainfully as she heard the front door creak open and the steady, almost stealth like footsteps enter the room. She kindly refrained from suggesting what may have taken them so long as it was not in her nature to do so, but she was not letting them off lightly. After all, the pair had just scathed off for a good two hours and left her with all the decorating, un-decorating and redecorating to do, even Sakura couldn't let that slide.

"Rika just told me the good news by the way," she added as the footsteps stopped. "Takashi was oh so pleased to hear about your change of plans. Any who, now that you're back you can help me get rid of these clichéd banners. They no longer seem appropriate."

"Sakura," he replied uncertainly and somewhat disappointedly. "I don't know what you're talking about, but I never told Rika or Takashi anything."

Sakura stopped suddenly, the 'Bon Voyage' banner she had been unpinning falling from her hand. She slowly turned around, praying to every god she could possibly imagine that this wasn't a dream, that it was real and that all her prayers and wishes and dreams had come true in that very instant.

There was something so familiar about that voice. Soft and warm and safe. It felt like home, only it was like nothing she had ever imagined. She should have known sooner, his stoic footsteps always gave him away, but it was such a surprise – a good surprise, the best surprise even.

And there he was, standing before her in all his glory. Syaoran Li. And she had never been so happy in her life.

In an instant she was in his arms, running across the room at lightning speeds, showering him in kisses and holding him close.

"It's good to see you too, Sakura," he teased as he savoured the feeling of her in his arms. He'd missed it for so long. He'd missed her and it was good to be back where she was. "So what's all this about Rika and Takashi? I hope nobody's ruined my surprise."

"No surprises ruined," she replied gleefully, snuggling into his warm embrace. "I don't think I could have dreamed a better surprise. The Rika-Takashi thing is a totally unrelated thing that pales in comparison next to this. I thought you were Tomoyo and Eriol."

"Ah yes, how is my annoying little ancestor's scheme going?"

"Badly," Sakura sighed as she thought of Nakuru and Touya and all that they were going through. "Touya's barely said a word since he found out and it's been days since Nakuru left her room. I'm not even sure when she last ate and whenever you see either of them, you just know that they've been crying."

Syaoran sighed as he comforted Sakura who was clearly being affected by the terrible state of affairs being inflicted upon them. "For Eriol's sake I hope it works."

"Do you think . . ." Sakura began, but the words failed as their implication caught her unawares and tears welled in her eyes.

He smiled down at her, the most reassuring smile he could manage considering the circumstances, and held her a little tighter as he did everything in his power to set her mind at ease. "Hey," he offered kindly, wiping her tears, "you know I give Eriol a lot of flack, but things usually work out in the end. If things are meant to be, they will be. Even Eriol can't stuff that up."

"Thank you," she whispered softly. "What would I ever do without you?"

He smiled again as he gently kissed her forehead. "You never will be," he answered, planting a soft kiss on her lips as he silently declared his love and devotion.

"I can't believe you . . . you know how I feel about . . . oh god I can hardly say it . . . why would you even imply such a thing . . . I just . . . PLAID?!"

"How awful of me, but what else was I supposed to do?" Eriol cried back as the two entered the room, "I mean, after what you said about me and the frog princess. I'll never be able to get past this, the stigma. Something like that'll haunt a kid all through his high school career. How am I supposed to get into a good college with that sort of thing looming in my school record?"

"Don't be so dramatic Eriol," Tomoyo replied sardonically. "I'm sure that will be the last thing on their minds, what with my plaid fetish to contend with."

"I guess this means they're back together," Sakura shrugged as she watched as the two stormed off in different directions. "I think I liked them better when they were broken up."

Syaoran shrugged as he stepped over and clapped an open hand on Eriol's shoulder. "I don't think you have anything to worry about in that respect Moon boy," Syaoran told him comfortingly, almost tenderly. "The applications office will have their hands full trying to decipher your criminal record."

"It was one time and I thought I told you NEVER to call me moon boy!" Eriol exclaimed glaring at Syaoran from beneath spaghetti stained glasses.

"Well that's one way to greet your apparent best friend," Syaoran glared back. "Could somebody at least pretend like they're surprised _and_ happy to see me?"

"Now if I could just get you two to break up I think I'd be in paradise," Sakura teased as she pulled Syaoran from what could near be a no holds barred brawl.

She could just imagine where this was heading. Eriol would proclaim that he didn't care and in fact nobody cared and make reference to some crisis, probably one involving those awful pants he always insisted on wearing knowing Eriol. Syaoran would then in turn feel hurt by the implication that Eriol cared more about those bloody pants than his best friend (though he wouldn't say so but even Sakura could infer that from the evidence) and make a few more Moon boy comments to which Eriol will respond with a few 'cute little decedents' (for what is a 'moon boy' but a 'cute little decendent' by any other name). And that's where the fighting begins.

Everybody knows that Eriol fights dirty and with his precious little pants in peril he'd have nothing to lose. And then to throw magic into the mix?! Neither boy would be getting out of that one unharmed.

But luckily all this was avoided by Sakura's early intervention (after all prevention is the best form of intervention). She quickly took the next necessary step and changed the topic (moving form a defensive tactic to an offensive one if you like).

"So what is phase two of your plan, I mean now that you guys are back together?" Sakura asked looking between Eriol and Tomoyo.

Eriol and Tomoyo quickly looked between one another. Honestly they hadn't had time to really formulate phase two what with all their rehearsal on the way there and the subsequent crisis' that each was facing on the way back.

"Of course," Sakura sighed putting two and two together. "Tomoyo you are as bad Eriol sometimes."

"Sakura," Eriol said slowly looking her dead in the eye, "you're not going to like this, but we may need some help on phase two . . ."

End of Part V

I couldn't help myself; I had to throw a wee bit of S+S. On the same note, most of my S+S have a wee bit of T+N in it, although the stories themselves tend to be far more complicated (you wouldn't believe how complicated one of them is, I mean parallel worlds and multiple story lines and some people are in on the whole thing and others aren't – it's a crossover if that explains things at all).

Anyway, it sort of occurred to me that its kind of strange how Touya keeps shifting from one mood to another and I think at the end of this story we might all think about getting him to see a shrink, but as of yet its sort of necessary for the momentum of the story so its something we'll just have to live with.

Please review and feel free to offer sympathies for poor old Touya and his possible bipolar disorder (if not unspecified personality disorder).


	6. Part VI: Forever

Disclaimer – everything I own is trapped in my head which really isn't the best place for anything worth putting value on.

Part VI

Touya sat alone in the dark. It had been that way since Yukito had left as he contemplated everything that had been said. He was occasionally struck about how completely his thoughts had changed over the week, let alone over mere hours.

Touya had resumed his old habit of staring at an inanimate, bear-like object upon Yukito's departure. It was everything he could do to stop himself from thinking about Yukito's parting words that had lodged themselves in his brain.

Forever was an almost unfathomable length of time for Touya – it was by its very nature infinite and Touya had never been good with infinities (he had almost failed calculus and its imaginary numbers (A/N which I know isn't necessarily about infinities but it sounds better than limits and what not so just roll with it)). Nakuru was infinite; she would go on and on for an unfathomable period of time. Where as one day, he would simply cease to exist.

He would only have this lifetime to rehash what ifs and what could have been. One day his life would end and so would all his thoughts of her that had tortured him endlessly in life. He had an expiry date, as did his regrets. His torture, his life, his hopes, his dreams – everything about him was finite.

But Nakuru was infinite.

His wonderful and kind and caring and special Nakuru would be forever in a way he couldn't even contemplate.

Forever is a long time not to know . . .

But surely it wouldn't be forever? Surely she would forget him over time – I mean, they were barely friends in a way and there was nothing special about him to make him stand out in her memory. Surely Ruby Moon would find a way to keep Nakuru from feeling any misery.

Surely . . .

All he could think about was her tear stained face as he held her in the hall and whispered that it would all be alright. Eriol had made a liar of him – he'd made a liar of himself, but there was nothing he could do to take away her pain.

He was in an impossible situation – it was indeed hopeless – so shouldn't he at least be able to spare himself the pain of losing her? Couldn't he just stay home and pretend that she was already gone and save himself the added heartache of saying his last good byes? Didn't his own heart matter in any of this?

He sighed aloud.

What a silly question to ask? Of course it didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was Nakuru, and if his being there was able to reduce her heartache by even the smallest amount then it was worth any additional heartache he may have to endure. In the whole scheme of eternity it was the only thing that made any sense.

He had known it all along - even as he'd told Yukito he wouldn't attend - he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep himself away from her for this self same reason. He just had to see her one last time to tell her what she meant to him and that without her his whole world was falling apart.

But right now he was feeling that little bit selfish. And a part of him just kept saying that none of it was worth it.

So he made a decision. It was time to put things in the hands of fate (who clearly had not been on his side thus far). He closed his eyes and tossed a coin.

"Tails I go, heads I stay," he told himself quietly as he threw the coin into the air. His hands were almost shaking as he willed himself to look at the damned coin.

HEADS.

*

The party was in full swing by 7:30pm, although Nakuru didn't emerge until some time later. The guests were all cheerful, most of them pleased for the dramatic upheaval of the party's theme.

When Nakuru finally emerged she stood tentatively at the entrance of the long corridor to the bedrooms, awkwardly fiddling with the hem of the dress that Tomoyo had given her as she scanned the room. The bodice was corset like, made with pale lilac satin, with satin laces up the side, where as the knee length skirt was a soft layer of white chiffon over the same material (A/N: I wasn't really sure this was necessary to describe but I had made such a big deal about it earlier in that bit about Tomoyo so I felt kind of obliged to throw it in there).

Nakuru's eyes wandered slowly across he room, taking in each figure and checking them against the image she held in her heart. Each moment she didn't see him was heart shattering agony. Sakura spotted her across the room and tried to catch her eye, but Nakuru's gaze didn't linger long enough to be caught.

She gave one last glance of the room before turning on her heal. It was 8 o'clock, the party was in full swing and he just wasn't there . . .

Sakuru watched Nakuru's every move from across he room, he heart going out to the older girl. She watched as the guardian's eyes had roamed across the room in search of Touya, and she saw the tears that glistened quietly in the corners of her eyes when he was nowhere to be found.

"Yukito," Sakura said quietly turning to his best friend.

"I know," he replied in the same quiet voice. "I was sure he'd be here. I know he loves her, but . . . I guess I just thought he had more sense than this. I really thought that I had gotten through to him earlier."

"What do we do now?" she asked with a soft sigh.

"You go talk to Nakuru," he replied almost absent mindedly. "I know he'll be here. We just need to be patient."

Sakura nodded about to say something else but stopped her self. If Yukito could believe in her brother then so could she. She quickly followed Nakuru down the corridor. She found her curled up in the dark sitting alone on her bed, tears streaming freely down her face, unabashed to the possibility of spectators.

"Nakuru," Sakuru said softly, looking sympathetically upon the crumpled figure, feeling guilty for whatever part she played in Nakuru's greif. Nakuru jumped as Sakura sat down beside her and reached out to touch her shoulder.

"Sakura," she replied wiping away her tears even as they continued to stream down her face. She appeared relieved to see Sakura. "I'm so glad you're here. I need . . ." she started unsure of how to formulate it, "I need your help . . . please Sakura, I just need to forget."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked in reply, obviously concerned. "What's wrong Nakuru? What do you need?"

"You're the only one who can help me," she replied, seeming somewhat resolved and at the same time quite desperate. "I need the cards – erase – it's the only way."

"Nakuru, you're not . . ." Sakura began as relisation began to dawn on her. She watched Nakuru concernedly not believing that Nakuru was really asking her what she thought she was asking her. "You can't . . ."

"What choice do I have?" she replied. "Sakura, I want you to use erase on me. I just need to forget and I can't do it on my own."

"But it's ok now Nakuru," Sakura argued passionately. "Eriol and Tomoyo are back together. Nobody's leaving. Nobody's keeping you apart. Doesn't that make you happy? It means you don't need erase."

"What good does that do me?" she answered, turning away in shame as fresh tears welled in her eyes. "He doesn't love me, and that thought is unbearable. So I just want . . . I need to forget him and then it won't hurt anymore."

"What do you mean he doesn't love you?" Sakura asked sincerely. "And even if you really believed that, this can't be what you want."

"What else am I supposed to believe? If he loved me, he'd be here, but he's not so I guess I have my answer. He's glad to see me go.

"He doesn't even think enough of me to be here tonight," she continued. "I have to face the facts – Touya definitely doesn't love me. And if you could just erase my memory and help me to forget him, then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much."

"I won't do it," Sakura told her sternly. "You've got it all wrong Nakuru."

Sakura pleaded with Nakuru, wishing there were some way she could convince Nakuru of her brother's love when everything seemed to be stacked up against her. "It's because he loves you so much that he can't bear to see you leave and wish you farewell. His heart is breaking in two for you. He's not sleeping, he's not eating. He's barely left his room since he found out.

"All he thinks about is you and the fact that you're leaving and it's killing him," Sakura continued her own eyes sparkling with tears. "It's like . . ."

"It's like you're my world," Touya cut in, stepping through the door frame holding an ivory teddy bear and a bouquet of ruby red roses in his arms, "and the whole thing is crumbling down around me."

A long moment passed where Touya and Nakuru just stared at one another, their eyes locked and glistening with tears. Sakura coughed awkwardly as she carefully excused herself, completely unnoticed by the rooms other occupants.

"How . . . how long have you been standing there?" Nakuru asked quietly, afraid of breaking the moment.

Touya smiled ironically not taking his eyes from hers. "Long enough to hear how pathetic my life turned out to be without you in it, but I pretty much had that one figured out for my self."

"I- I . . ." Nakuru began, but Touya cut her off taking a seat next to her and holding her hands in his.

"I just need to get this out before it all gets the better of me and I lose my nerve," he told her quickly. "Nakuru you mean the world to me, and I should have worked it out sooner when I had the chance instead of being a complete fool, but at least I'm able to say it at least once before I lose you forever.

"I love you Azuiki Nakuru, and I just wish it hadn't taken losing you for me to finally realise just how much."

"I'm not leaving any more," Nakuru said quietly, bowing her head. "So it's ok if you want to change your mind."

"Why would I change my mind?" Touya asked looking at her with a curious smile.

"I just thought . . ." she admitted, halting suddenly as Touya's lips pressed against hers in a longed for kiss.

"Whatever you were thinking just now," he told her very seriously but with a sweet loving smile on his face as they broke apart, "it doesn't change anything. I love you Nakuru, even if that means that I'm stuck with you for all eternity. Even if it means that you'll never leave my side again. In fact if you'll be so kind as to accommodate me in such a way, I'd be much obliged."

Tears of happiness welled in her eyes as she looked at Touya with a serene smile. "If you're going to say things like that you better mean it Kinimoto," she warned him, standing up and looking at him sternly, "because I will hold you to it and I'll never let you go."

Touya stood up smiling and wrapped his arms around her, leaving his gifts to rest peacefully on the bed. "Good," he told her as he quickly kissed her forehead, "because I intend to hold you until the end of time."

Nakuru sighed softly, happily, as she rested her head on his chest and let her whole body relax into his arms. This was it. This was what she had been waiting for all her life. She couldn't tell where she ended and Touya began and she felt complete in a way she had never thought possible.

"I'm sorry I'm late," he whispered softly as they began to sway to the music that drifted in from the ballroom. "I had some problems with a coin."

She looked up at him imploringly, her smile never leaving her face.

"You wouldn't believe it," he explained almost sheepishly, "twelve heads in a row. It took me almost three hours to throw just one more tail than I had heads."

She just continued to smile, not caring that she didn't have a clue what he was talking about. What mattered was that he was there and that everything was how it should have been all along.

"I love you," she told him, whispering those three small words, all powerful and everlasting.

"I love you too."

THE END

Alright, a nice sweet end to things there. Just one chapters to go, a sort of 'where are they now' chapter. Not really necessary to the plot but good for closure I guess. Anyway please review and what not.


	7. Epilogue: Tell Us About You

Disclaimer - Here are the things I don't own . . . I don't own CCS or any of the characters . . . I don't own the song 'Three Small Words' . . . and I do not own THINGEE's - if I did I would probably be lynched.

So I was going to use this in _Not What You Think_ only I didn't really think it would work in that story - partly because nobody sends a THINGEE to their siblings as they usually contain information you don't want a sibling to know (although Sakura's was particularly tame) and partly because it didn't really add anything to the plot as far as I could tell. In the end I decided that it would make a nice little epilogue for this one, in a happily ever after kind of way. I get to tell you all that things worked out for the best and throw in a family and a career in a very subtle way which the writers of Digimon (don't own BTW) could certainly learn from.

TELL US ABOUT YOU

*What time is it?* It's late, you pesky little computer email thing. Damn kajuu and you're annoying little questionnaire things. Can't give a guy a break can you?

*Name*: Touya Kinomoto

*Nicknames*: shut up kajuu

*Parent's Names*: Fujitaka and Nadeshiko

*Siblings*: None . . . :?

*Number of candles that appeared on your last birthday cake*: Like four or five. All of them perfectly spread out and evenly spaced. You know what Nakuru can be like at times.

*Date that you regularly blow them out (birthday):* 29th Feb which technically only makes me about 5 anyway. Nakuru says that makes me an Aquarius and she says that's why I'm so stubborn, but I disagree . . . about the stubborn bit not about the Aquarius bit cos I have no idea . . .

*Pets*: Well we just had to commit a couple of them to the grave after next doors cat got in somehow, but as of tomorrow morning they will be replaced. Apparently the kids are going to call one of them 'Pinky' (after their favourite aunty) and the other 'Wiley Cayote'. Luckily, children do not attach to fish in the same way they do furry type creatures which made them an exceptionally safe choice. Rusty is doing well of course. He's getting a little bit porky though, which I suspect has something to do with the kids feeding him their vegetables, but they're supposed to be good for him I guess.

*Height*: Tall. That's a height that defies measurement.

*Eye colour*: Like brown I guess.

*Piercing*: when I was younger, but I'm supposed to be setting a good example for future generations these days. How am I supposed to stop Yuki from going out and getting a tattoo when I still have a bolt through my eyebrow reminiscent of my youth when I thought I was cool or something?

HAVE YOU EVER...?

*Had the drink Calypso Breeze*? I suspect that anyone who answers yes to this question is lying and that there is some kind of inside joke embedded in here that I'm not supposed to get. I put it in to Wiki (A/N: don't own Wikipedia but I wish I did :?) once and according to Wiki it just doesn't exist which I think is very suspicious.

*Been in love*? I am in love with a most incredible woman who I fell in love with the very instant I first saw her, even if I had no idea of it at the time. I love my wife . . . especially when she's reading this email over my shoulder. Nakuru says hi.

*Been toilet-papering*? Once when I was young and didn't know any better.

THE FUTURE:

*School*: I think this just goes to show that I am too old to be doing thingees.

*Where You Want To Live*: I think one day I would love to just leave the city completely and settle down in the country on a farm where we could have chickens and sheep and cows and pigs. I think that would be a sort of dream for me.

*How Many Kids You Want*: Nakuru always maintained that she wanted to have millions of kids and that I was the one stopping us from having more kids, but I think for now we're completely happy with the ones we've got. Maybe in a few years when the three we've got are a bit easier to handle we might think about having another one – its not easy to think fondly of that sort of thing when you're oldest is 6 and the youngest is almost 1. By the way, I think Koushiro has a tooth coming through; he's been quite stroppy this past week which is usually a good indicator. I just thought I'd give you the update there.

*Girl names*: Yuki but that's already taken. I think if I had another girl I'd call her Nadeshiko after mom.

*Boy names*: Koushi and Takero of course being very good names. Maybe I could have a Touya Junior if Nakuru would let me, but she has this look on her face that suggests the answer would be no. I think if we have another child, it will have to be girl. Nakuru does not like being outnumbered like this.

*What Kind Of Job You Want*: The kind where I don't have to do anything all day but stay home and hang out with my family. If you know anybody willing to pay for such a position give them my name, but otherwise I'm happy where I am and I really enjoy what I do. You know I always wanted to be a doctor ever since I was little and other than the perfect existence outlined above, this is exactly the kind of job I've always wanted.

*You Want To Get Married*: What? Again? I don't think I could handle another wife! Is flicked quite painfully by current wife – N

WHO:

*Makes you laugh The Most*: Takero, he's just getting into that 'why' stage. Sometimes it annoys the hell out of me, but other times he'll ask the most incredible things that I can't help but smile.

*Do You Go To For Advice or to talk About Things*: Nakuru, unless I need to talk about her then I go to Yukito because that would just be really awkward.

*Who Do You Hate*: the man who invented childproofing. Almost every item in our house is childproofed these days and it takes me almost three times as long to do anything worth doing. Even the TV is childproofed. I have to type in a six digit pin code just to watch animal planet and 'The Simpsons'.

*Knows the Most about You*: Nakuru. That one knows things about me that even I don't know . . . although that could just be because she's psychic. Who knows.

*Is Your Best Friend*: Nakuru and Yukito.

*Has It Easier, Guys or Girls*: You says girls, but who has to go and push a child out of a hole that is obviously far too small for the task it has been given? Yeah, I know, terrible example but it's the only one that's on my side.

WHICH ONE?

*Croutons or Bacon Bits*: bacon, only I have no idea what this question is about. All I know is that if I have to make a choice between meat and bread, meat is probably going to win. I'm a carnivore.

*2 doors or 4 (on a car)*: A two door convertible in jet black with all the mod cons. Although I suspect that's not what you were asking for.

Mr. Pibb or Dr. Pepper*: Dr. Pepper.

*Coffee or Ice-cream*: coffee, although Nakuru's switched me onto decaf so I'm currently going through all kinds of withdrawals.

*Shampoo or Conditioner*: shampoo. I don't really get conditioner, which could be because I'm a guy, but it doesn't seem all that special to me.

*Bridges or Tunnels*: Tunnels. We've got this new game we play with Yuki and Takero whenever we go on a road trip that whenever we go into a tunnel they have to hold their breaths end be quite as possible so the trolls won't know they're there. It's very sweet. Nakuru and I will start talking to them like we've forgotten and Yuki will frantically shut us up before the trolls notice. I just hope we haven'tscarred them for life with talk of monsters in tunnels and under bridges.

*One pillow or two*: Two if my wife doesn't steal them. She's a three pillow kind of girl.

*Adidas or Nike*: I'm not really sure the point of these questions as I have no real preference for any of these brands, so I'll just leave the rest of these blank for you to ponder the answers to.

*Nike or Reebok*:

*Adidas or Reebok*:

WORD ASSOCIATION (FIRST THING THAT COMES TO MIND)

*Rock*: We Will Rock You.

*Green*: Fields of grass, meadows and that sort of thing.

*Wet*: the beach and making sand castles and sculptures.

*Cry*: baby.

*Peanut Butter*: sandwiches. No jelly required.

FAVORITES:

*Salad Dressing*: Mayonaise, although fat free. Nakuru's on a bit of health kick right now and she's taken everything worth eating out of my diet. I think that Rusty is the only one not suffering from this.

*Colour of socks*: I've never really thought about sock colour as something which I had favourites of. My current socks are grey, but they may have been white in a previous life. Strange. Now that I think of it, I think most of my socks are grey and therefore grey must be my favourite sock colour.

*Memory*: The most terrible week of my life, which finally brought me and Nakuru together. Perhaps not so much as the week itself but the end of that week – our first kiss, telling her I loved her. It's something I'll never forget although I really think that it needs to be looked at in the entire context what with the scheming and the heartache which some of you are still not entirely forgiven for in spite of its obvious success and the fact that I probably wouldn't be where I am now if it weren't for your interfering.

*Toothpaste*: whatever my darling wife happens to buy.

*Food*: pudding.

*Song at the moment*: 'Paralyzer' by Finger Eleven.

*TV show*: House MD. You'd think I'd be against medical dramas, and most of the time I am, but there will always be a special place in my heart for Dr. House.

*Toothbrush*: ditto toothpaste.

*Subject in School*: Science obviously. One of the few things I remember from high school is learning about the theories of evolution that preceded 'survival of the fittest'. My favourite was the one about practice being at the centre of species development. Apparently all that was needed was to practice a desired trait and it would be learnt and passed on to future generations. Maybe that's where the saying "practice makes perfect" originated.

*Flower*: Peach blossoms.

*Colour*: Blue and silver.

*NON-ALOHOLIC DRINK*: Lemon, Lime and Bitters. Even though bitters is technically alcohol, there is no way enough in it for it to constitute as alcoholic.

*Sport to Watch*: Soccer of course.

*Country Song*: hmmm . . . "Oh Canada" is pretty catchy and I doubt anybody can deny that infectious tune of "Australia Fair" or is theirs "Waltzing Matilda"?

*Sesame Street Character*: Big Bird. The kids are huge Elmo fans, but it will always be Big Bird for me.

*Disney Character*: Goofy, although I never quite worked out what he was supposed to be. I mean, Mickey is a mouse, and Donald is a Duck, but what on earth is Goofy?! Is he some sort of dog? And if so, where does Pluto (not a planet :() fit in?

*Warner Brothers*: Bugs Bunny, who is obviously a bunny and I therefore have no qualms over his species.

RANDOM QUESTIONS

*When was your last hospital check in*: about three weeks ago. Nakuru insisted that I get my cholesterol checked.

*Do You Drink*: not very often. Occasionally we have some grown up friends over for dinner and I have a glass of red or a beer, but otherwise it is strictly non-alcoholic.

*How many times did you fail your permit and Drivers License Test?*: I passed first time. Must be a boy thing. Nakuru had to sit hers eight times before they let her have it, between you and me I suspect they were just sick of seeing her at the testing station. Please note that Touya will be sleeping on the couch tonight and several nights after that – N ;)

*Where do you see yourself in 10 years?*: Trying to come to terms with having a teenage daughter. If Nakuru is anything to go by I think we should be relatively safe.

*Who is the last person that you got mail from before this one*? Just a few notes about an article I just submitted, as well as several other thingee things.

*Have you ever been convicted of a crime*? Never.

*Which single store would you choose to max your credit card*? I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing, but I'd probably spend it all on the kids. And electronic gadgets. I do love gadgets.

*What type of car you drive now*? A very child friendly station wagon, with extra room in the back for the dog.

*What do you do most often when you are bored*? Fill out thingees. Write emails to my little sister who hasn't come to visit her niece and nephews since three weeks ago. They miss you and are constantly asking when their aunty Saku is coming by.

*Name the person that you are friends with that lives the farthest away from you*: I think everyone's about the same distance now that we're at that age where we're starting to settle down. We're past that travelling the world phase of our lives.

*Are You in A Gang or Club*: a few and the occasional society.

*What Is Your Favourite Kind Of Clothes*: ditto toothpaste and toothbrushes. These are areas where I have little to no say.

*Are you Close Minded*: At times.

*Are You Open Minded*: But other wise yes.

*Are You A Player*: I'm not sure that this question is even worthy of an answer.

*Can u be in love with 2 people at the same time*? Not unless you want both those people to hunt you down and use your balls for target practice – I've heard of these things happening.

*Humiliating Moment*: When I almost fainted during the birth of my eldest.

*Who do you think will respond to this fastest*? I better not get any responses. This is a courtesy email sent in reply to all those who kindly thought of me as they filled out their thingees but this is the last I wish to hear of them. Ok?

*Who is the person you sent this to that is least likely to send back*? Not applicable.

*what time is it now*: Later

*who's most likely not going to read this*: not you obviously.

*goals for this year*: try and convince Nakuru on the idea of us eventually having a Touya Junior, or alternatively, Touya Kinomoto II.

THE END

Yay I finished. Go me. How rare it is of me to finish a fic.

Anyway, in case you didn't notice there were a few other things along the way that I don't own i.e. 'We Will Rock You' (musical and song), 'The Simpson' and all associated merchandise, Animal Planet and peanut butter cos we don't eat peanut butter in my house due to peanut allergies and the like. Any others we will simply take as read.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story and please review it again just to keep my spirits up. Also, read my other fics - although the CCS ones are focused on Sakura and Syaoran, I tend to throw in a little T+N in the background because I think they make a cute couple and I like for people to know where I stand on such matters. And if you also like Pokemon and Digimon I have a few of those too - the Pokemon are inevitable AshxMisty but who can deny such a coupling? And lets not forget my CCSxPokemon crossover where they switch worlds. Yes I know that I am taking advantage of this opportunity to flog my other fics but once you get started it is really difficult to stop and I guess I'm just not read to end it yet. But I will so this is it, the very end. *sigh*


End file.
